Today is World Aids Day and although I am not personally living with HIV I have friends who are.
But my day has taken an interesting track today.
For a start the letter that I had published in this morning's Belfast Telegraph led to one of my Christian friends in Northern Ireland telling me that they felt they could no longer remain my friend on Facebook and the unfriended me. I sent them the link to my blog post which gave the full version of my original letter to show them that I did not and would not have a go at Christian's per se, but I was having a go at those with privilege extending it to others. I also asked them to tell me in each of the examples that I listed which side was most of the churches or churched on at the times that equality was extended.
I hope they realise that the church has been behind on a number of occasions from slavery to other believe systems to women and that LGBT is just the latest manifestation.
But over the weekend I also posted a sad story about parents who sent their gay son to reparative therapy. Only for him later to rebel and seek to find himself, sadly in a way that would eventually kill him. But the happy ending is that they are teaching that the dangers of reparative therapy are more than the dangers of a LGBT child falling in love with someone of the same sex and settling down.
Sadly one of my acquaintances on Facebook without reading this attacked the article as being Churches attacking LGBT people. It led to some friends messaging me in private to tell me that they felt unsafe on commenting on this post to my time line. Friends who are in the church and supportive or leaning that way in relation to accepting LGBT people within it. When people like that, who are supportive, feel unable to speak up because someone else takes ownership of a thread despite their own ignorance as to the specifics that is as dangerous as reparative therapy. The reason is that some of those supporters get turned off from helping LGBT young people in their midst and the end result is that more of them will feel more isolated until they find others like themselves, if they do, and it is not too late.
So I make no apology for listing both these people as bigots and they exist on both sides of the debate over church and LGBT. But there really shouldn't be sides of this. However, many church people cannot see LGBT individuals and issues as things that concern them, despite Jesus saying go into all the world. At the same time many LGBT people see no point in talking civilly to people who are religious, despite many of them being supportive and the best people to make sure other religious people become supportive too.
But while there are isolated incidents such as the ones I faced today there are far more people of faith or who are LGBT who are supportive of the stance that I take on this issue, treading a careful line between the two because both are part of who I and others actually are.
But while I felt a little stigma for being me today that is as nothing to the stigma that some who live with HIV feel everyday. But while we still have ignorant comments such as those of UKIP's deputy leader Christopher Monckton the other day many will continue to do so.
We need to stamp out bigotry and the stigma than involves and that goes both ways.
Showing posts with label stigma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stigma. Show all posts
Monday, 1 December 2014
Thursday, 1 December 2011
World Aids Day 2011: Getting to Zero #WAD2011
Today is World AIDS Day and the theme for 2011 is Getting to Zero. What that means is:
The first one is up to YOU know your status and your partners status and play it safe until you do. HIV can be passed on by heterosexual as were a homosexual sex, it can also be passed on by intravenous drug users sharing neddles. So be careful folks. Treat each new sexual partner with safety first, you won't know if they are affected on first contact.
HIV is affected whole communities in parts of Africa. This is where the greatest number of AIDS related deaths occurs. All because the people there cannot afford the medications that many of those in the West take for granted these days. Many people can live successful lives living with HIV with their meds, but the companies who have produced the live enhancing and supporting meds for HIV are in it to make money and the Africa epidemic is something they are not prepared to do.
Of course not every area of the world is prepared to met all three of the zeroes this year. But the focus should be on one that can be most effective to a region or nations situation. All three require education to the risks that are still there and the things that can be done to overcome the stigma, the risk and the ability for those living with HIV to remain strong.
If you have a ribbon wear it with pride today. If you haven't see if you can find one (if not for this year for next December).
- Getting to zero new HIV infections
- Getting to zero discrimination
- Getting to zero AIDS related deaths
The first one is up to YOU know your status and your partners status and play it safe until you do. HIV can be passed on by heterosexual as were a homosexual sex, it can also be passed on by intravenous drug users sharing neddles. So be careful folks. Treat each new sexual partner with safety first, you won't know if they are affected on first contact.
The zero discrimination about HIV and AIDS is harder to achieve when you get groups like Christians for a Moral American making comments like this about the recent hospitalisation of George Michael. Yes 30 years on we still have ignorant people who think that HIV and AIDS are gay diseases. I had a conversation in a chat room during the week about people not wearing a red ribbon. Some don't wear it because they feel it marks them out a either LGBT or having HIV themselves. Some of the people who thought that love it when a straight celebrity appears in the gay media (yes the naked issue of Gay Times is out) supporting the LGBT community by identifying with them, but they seem nervous about supporting those living with HIV so positively. Of course those that wear the ribbon are those living with HIV, their partners, family, friends and supporters. At least that is how it should be.
HIV is affected whole communities in parts of Africa. This is where the greatest number of AIDS related deaths occurs. All because the people there cannot afford the medications that many of those in the West take for granted these days. Many people can live successful lives living with HIV with their meds, but the companies who have produced the live enhancing and supporting meds for HIV are in it to make money and the Africa epidemic is something they are not prepared to do.
Of course not every area of the world is prepared to met all three of the zeroes this year. But the focus should be on one that can be most effective to a region or nations situation. All three require education to the risks that are still there and the things that can be done to overcome the stigma, the risk and the ability for those living with HIV to remain strong.
If you have a ribbon wear it with pride today. If you haven't see if you can find one (if not for this year for next December).
Finally I wish I were down in London today to take part in the World AIDS Day Swish down Old Compton Street at 6pm. However, those folks at Gaydar radio put in a little practise earlier. Now radio isn't the best medium to share such an activity with everyone, so they YouTubed it here:
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
World #AIDS Day - #ActAware: HIV in Northern Ireland
Yeah it will come as shock to some people in Northern Ireland, but yes there are people living with HIV here in Northern Ireland.
You can't tell who they are by looking at them.
You are not at risk from every day contact with them.
The HIV Support Centre in Belfast says that every week there are two people newly diagnosed with HIV. That is two more people who will be living with HIV in their bodies, two more sets of family and friends that will be living with someone they know very well having HIV.
Of course it is up to the individual in question as to whether s/he lets their family or friends know their status. There is still a stigma attached to HIV, which is almost as much of the ignorance from the 80s instead of what is known now about the disease. In fact it is possible to be in a full relationship with someone living with HIV and practice safer sex and to remain negative yourself*.
That stigma is something that is hard to overcome. It only will be broken down if more people living with HIV are courageous enough to let others know. Showing others that they can live a perfectly normal live.
My friend Michael is a trustee of The HIV Support Centre and he is adamant that the stigma of HIV is best lifted when people are aware that people living with HIV are all around them. Until recently this was even an issue with The HIV Support Centre itself, referring to itself merely as 'The Centre'; the centre of what, one might ask. I recently witnessed him helping lift that stigma one person at a time.
He was talking to a friend he had known for some time, the conversation got round to HIV and his work as a trustee. Standing there listening I had an inkling where that conversation was going, especially once the friend seemed shocked that there people living with HIV in Northern Ireland, the friend was not someone you'd expect to be ignorant of such facts. Michael, eventually asked the question, "Do you know anyone living with HIV?". The friend replied "No". A hand was proffered with the words, "Hello, I'm Michael, I'm living with HIV." It was a brave step even to a friend of some standing, and I'm glad to report he shook that hand and carried on asking more questions, over to the side I was fighting back the tear ducts**.
There is also the stigma of attending a GUM clinic. Some people think that everyone in there is carrying some STI if not HIV. But not every car that you see in a garage needs work doing, some are just being serviced and getting looked over ahead of an MOT, getting tested regularly is just like that. Far better to know what your status is, negative or otherwise at regular intervals that to find out too late that there is something wrong. Late diagnoses means that sometimes the medications may not be effective for the treatment of HIV.
Scarily 1 in 4 people living with HIV are as yet undiagnosed. Scarily of that set 39% are diagnosed so late that they need to start HIV treatment immediately, and 30% were diagnosed so late that there was a real risk of developing a potentially fatal illness. When there are apparently to 1 in 20 of the UK wide gay male population that are living with HIV that can lead to nightmares. Therefore the rule of thumb is treat every encounter the same, be safe and respect your own body. If someone refuses you because you want safer sex, don't give in to peer pressure.
The message this year is ACT AWARE.
Are you aware of your HIV status?
If you're not but are sleeping around whether with people of the same sex or the opposite, may I advise you to go and get tested now and regularly and be aware.
If you don't believe how important that can be I'll advise to wait until my next blog post.
* Of course there is no such thing as 100% safe sex, but if you love someone you decide for yourself what you want to do providing you are in full knowledge of the facts.
** Yeah I tend to well up quite a lot.
You can't tell who they are by looking at them.
You are not at risk from every day contact with them.
Of course it is up to the individual in question as to whether s/he lets their family or friends know their status. There is still a stigma attached to HIV, which is almost as much of the ignorance from the 80s instead of what is known now about the disease. In fact it is possible to be in a full relationship with someone living with HIV and practice safer sex and to remain negative yourself*.
That stigma is something that is hard to overcome. It only will be broken down if more people living with HIV are courageous enough to let others know. Showing others that they can live a perfectly normal live.
My friend Michael is a trustee of The HIV Support Centre and he is adamant that the stigma of HIV is best lifted when people are aware that people living with HIV are all around them. Until recently this was even an issue with The HIV Support Centre itself, referring to itself merely as 'The Centre'; the centre of what, one might ask. I recently witnessed him helping lift that stigma one person at a time.
He was talking to a friend he had known for some time, the conversation got round to HIV and his work as a trustee. Standing there listening I had an inkling where that conversation was going, especially once the friend seemed shocked that there people living with HIV in Northern Ireland, the friend was not someone you'd expect to be ignorant of such facts. Michael, eventually asked the question, "Do you know anyone living with HIV?". The friend replied "No". A hand was proffered with the words, "Hello, I'm Michael, I'm living with HIV." It was a brave step even to a friend of some standing, and I'm glad to report he shook that hand and carried on asking more questions, over to the side I was fighting back the tear ducts**.
There is also the stigma of attending a GUM clinic. Some people think that everyone in there is carrying some STI if not HIV. But not every car that you see in a garage needs work doing, some are just being serviced and getting looked over ahead of an MOT, getting tested regularly is just like that. Far better to know what your status is, negative or otherwise at regular intervals that to find out too late that there is something wrong. Late diagnoses means that sometimes the medications may not be effective for the treatment of HIV.
Scarily 1 in 4 people living with HIV are as yet undiagnosed. Scarily of that set 39% are diagnosed so late that they need to start HIV treatment immediately, and 30% were diagnosed so late that there was a real risk of developing a potentially fatal illness. When there are apparently to 1 in 20 of the UK wide gay male population that are living with HIV that can lead to nightmares. Therefore the rule of thumb is treat every encounter the same, be safe and respect your own body. If someone refuses you because you want safer sex, don't give in to peer pressure.
The message this year is ACT AWARE.
Are you aware of your HIV status?
If you're not but are sleeping around whether with people of the same sex or the opposite, may I advise you to go and get tested now and regularly and be aware.
If you don't believe how important that can be I'll advise to wait until my next blog post.
* Of course there is no such thing as 100% safe sex, but if you love someone you decide for yourself what you want to do providing you are in full knowledge of the facts.
** Yeah I tend to well up quite a lot.
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